Monster Spawner
minecraft:spawnerA monster spawner is a cage-like block that continuously summons the mob displayed spinning inside it whenever a player is nearby and the surrounding light and space conditions are met. It cannot be picked up in Survival — even with Silk Touch — and breaking it with a pickaxe yields experience but no block.
Uses
- Experience Farming — Left intact and lit correctly, a spawner produces an endless supply of mobs, making it the core of many XP and mob-drop farms.
- Experience on Break — Mining a spawner with a pickaxe drops 15–43 experience, though the block itself is destroyed.
Found In
- Dungeons (monster rooms) — Spawns zombies, skeletons, or spiders in cobblestone rooms.
- Mineshafts — Cave spider spawners sit within cobweb-filled corridors.
- Strongholds and Nether structures — Silverfish in end portal rooms, blazes in nether fortresses, magma cubes in bastion remnants.
FAQ
Can I pick up a spawner with Silk Touch?
No. A monster spawner cannot be collected in Survival by any means, including Silk Touch — it only drops experience.
How do I stop a spawner?
Place torches or other light sources in and around it to raise the light level, or fill the surrounding space so mobs have nowhere to spawn.
Can I change what a spawner spawns?
Only in Creative mode, by using a spawn egg on the block. In Survival the mob type is fixed by world generation.
Tags
- pickaxe_mineable
- structure
- redstone_component
- spawns_mobs